Breathe in, Breathe out
by murp-o
Summary: Everything was exactly where she left it. Her favorite pillow sat on the edge of her bed. Her favorite books were still sitting on her desk. Her clothes, her journals, her pai sho set, all were exactly where she put them. But everything felt so different. [Warning: Character death]


**(A/N): This is for the Pro-Bending Circut.**

 **Team:** Harbor Town Hog Monkeys

 **Position:** Firebender

 **Task:** Someone returning home after a long day

 **Prompts Used:**

1 Point- (word) Favorite

1 point- (color) Sage Green

2 Points- (Character) Jinora

 **Word Count (Not including Author's Note):** 1667 words

* * *

 _Breathe in, Breathe out_

* * *

For Jinora, home was Air Temple Island. When the war against Kuvira's forces finally ended and everyone got to go back home, she went to air temple island. The building was unscathed but somehow the entire place felt different. Jinora wandered the halls looking at everything like it was the first day she had been there. She went to the kitchen, to the gates, to the pavilion before walking back to her room in a daze.

 _Breathe in, breathe out, breathe in, breathe out._

Everything was exactly where she left it. Her favorite pillow sat on the edge of her bed. Her favorite books were still sitting on her desk. Her clothes, her journals, her pai sho set, all were exactly where she put them. But everything felt so different. She knew why. The place was empty without her. She had spent hours after it happened crying. The place just didn't feel right.

There was a knock on the door.

Jinora stayed where she was.

Another knock, this time followed by a muffled voice.

She didn't move to open the door nor did she try to listen.

Another knock, another muffled voice. The door slid open.

"Jinora?"

She kept her head down.

 _Breathe in, breathe out, breathe in, breathe out._

"Jinora?" the voice repeated. She turned to the voice. She hadn't looked in the mirror but it wasn't hard to know what she looked like; red eyes and tear paths down her face.

Her mom didn't seem surprised; it looked as if she had been crying just as much. She strained a smile and put a comforting hand on her shoulder and nodded. "Food is downstairs if you're hungry." Jinora nodded, turning away. Her mom sighed, leaning down to hug Jinora. "Everything is going to be fine."

Jinora nodded again. Her mom walked out of the room, closing the door behind her. Jinora turned back towards the window. The world seemed to be moving, and it was leaving her behind. _Hurry up,_ the world told her. So she tried. She tried to forget or think about everything but what happened but everything just led back to the moment.

 _The spirit cannon blast came down fast. The injured from the last blast were lying on the ground. Ikki was among them. Tenzin saw her on the ground. He ran towards her, picking her up and running around the corner as Kuvira, once again, reloads the cannon. They make it with time to spare. There's a person still trying to around the corner. Ikki was never irrational. It didn't seem like her to be heroic or be impulsive and run straight towards danger but that's what she did. Tenzin ran towards her, trying to pull her back but it was too late. Ikki got the person to safety. She almost made it. Almost. The cannon came down fast on her. She was on the line of fire._

 _"IKKI!" Tenzin screamed, reaching out to grab her and pull her in. She reached towards him. The cannon came down. The smoke came down. Jinora felt light headed as she waited for the smoke to clear. Ikki was never her favorite person to talk to but she was her sister. She was annoying; she was rude but she was her sister. The smoke slowly disappeared._

 _"Ikki! Are you there?" Tenzin screamed, looking around. But the place was empty. The stone was overturned, the building was burning but there was no one there._

 _Ikki was gone._

 _Just. Like. That._

 _Breathe in, breathe out, breathe in, breathe out._

And she was back where she started.

The process would repeat itself. Every time, everyone around her seemed to move farther away, forgetting the tragedy.

She sat on her bed. She didn't move. She heard murmuring outside her door. One by one, she could see the lights turn off from under the door.

It was dark when she left her room. There were snores coming from random rooms. She tried to ignore the room across from hers; trying hard not to think of what may lie behind those doors. What would they do to it? Would someone new move in? Would they leave it for a tribute? She felt tears starting to well up. _Don't think about it. Think of something else. Think of the stories about Grandpa Aang._

 _Breathe in, breathe out, breathe in, breathe out._

The pavilion was empty that late at night. She sat in her usual spot, pretending that Tenzin was across from her and Meelo was next to her. She imagined Ikki was there, sitting next to her meditating. So many memories were with Ikki here. It hurt too much. Everything led back to that moment. Everyone said everything was going to be alright but at that moment, everything seemed to be breaking down and it was dragging her down with it. _Meditate,_ she reminded herself.

On a normal day, it was easy to clear her mind. She had perfected the art and could manage to slip into the spirit world quickly and without a problem. Her mind kept revisiting the scene. She could still see the giant cannon coming down on Ikki. She could have done so much more. She could have saved her. If she had just reached out and pulled her in quick enough.

 _Breathe in, breathe out, breathe in, breathe out._

Slowly she felt herself slipping into a much more relaxed state and slipped into the spirit world. It felt so much more free and cheerful in the spirit world. The sage green trees and the clear blue sky; the red butterflies and little orange sprits; everything felt so relaxing and free. Jinora felt like she could finally breathe.

"What brings you to my tea shop?" Jinora turned around. A smiling, old man waved.

"I was just wandering around," She quickly said.

"You seemed troubled," the man said. "I know what can help you, sit, sit." Jinora looked around. There were spirits everywhere, hovering around the tea shop. The old man came back in a few minutes.

"Have some jasmine tea," he said, handing the tea over to Jinora. "It clears the mind."

"Thank you," Jinora paused.

"You can call me Uncle Iroh," the man said, smiling. "And what can I call you?"

"Jinora," she said.

"So you were the girl the avatar was trying to save," Uncle Iroh said. Jinora looked at him confused. "She came by years ago when the spirits were turning dark. I gave her a tea of my own brew. It gave hope. This brew, however, is better for someone after a great loss."

Jinora looked up. "How did you know?"

"I've seen the look many times," the man said. "On both myself and others."

She nodded, turning back to the tea, drinking it in silence. Finally, she looked up from the teacup. "My sister, Ikki -," Jinora started. She felt herself choke up before she could finish the sentence. "My sister, Ikki, she, um, she," Jinora repeated, trying again. Instead she felt herself choke up again. The tears that she had held back at the pavilion and the island flooded down her face as she came to the realization again.

Ikki was dead.

 _Breathe in._

She was dead.

 _Breathe out._

Dead.

 _Breathe in._

And she wasn't coming back.

 _Breathe out._

She could see the cannon load, Ikki running back out, the determination in her eyes as she ran back over, the fear in her eyes when she realized it was too late. She could see everything she could have done to save her life. She could have run out after her and helped her bring the injured in, she could have airbent a cover around her and push her in. What worth were the tattoos if she couldn't even save her sister's life?

 _Breathe in, breathe out, breathe in, breathe out.  
_  
Uncle Iroh stood behind her, patting her back and calming her down. Slowly she calmed down, the only evidence of her crying was in her red eyes and the slight hiccup.

"Have some tea," he said, handing her a new cup of tea. "Death turns even the most composed to tears." Jinora sniffled. They sat in silence for a moment before Iroh spoke again. "Your sister, Ikki, isn't truly dead."

Jinora looked up, "What does that mean?"

Uncle Iroh shrugged, "No one dies unless you let them. Until everyone forgets her and stops holding her in their heart, they don't die. Death doesn't stop love, it strengthens it."

Jinora sat there in silence, sipping tea for a bit longer while mulling over the quote. She slowly turned the cup, watching the light reflect it. Finally she put the tea down and looked up. "She died saving a person from the spirit vine cannon. The person lived but she didn't make it around the corner in time."

"Ah, your sister was very brave," Iroh said.

"She was," Jinora said quietly.

"Be proud of what she did," Uncle Iroh said. "Not everyone would risk their lives saving another person. You can't change the past but you can change the future. Make sure your sister is remembered for her good not her bad." A spirit hopped over to Uncle Iroh and whispered something in his ear. "Well it seems like you need to get going. It's getting early and your parents might get worried."

Jinora smiled for the first time that day. "Thank you for talking to me. And thanks for the tea, it really helped."

"Anytime." Jinora let herself slip back into the mortal world. The sun hadn't risen yet but the sky was already bright. A few birds hopped around on the pavilion. Jinora smiled and quickly rose from the spot she had sat in and slipped back into her room. She pulled out one of the journals and flipped to the latest entry. She flipped to the next page, leaving a blank page in between.

 _Remember the best of her, not the worse._

Jinora started writing.

 _Breathe in._

 _Breathe out._


End file.
